Learning Modules
To develop your understanding of the suburb of Pyrmont and deepen your knowledge of the HSC Geography Syllabus, especially the urban dynamics operating in a country town or suburb dot point, you must complete the modules and all activities within each. Record your answers on the worksheet. Ensure that you discuss with your teacher if they would prefer to complete and submit a hard or digital version of the sheet.
Click on the Google Docs icon to make a copy of the worksheet
Module One
A brief introduction to Pyrmont
Pyrmont, highlighted in the map, inside the red outline, is a peninsula bounded by the shoreline of Port Jackson in the north, Darling Harbour in the east, Fig Street in the south and Blackwattle Bay in the west. (“About the profile areas | Pyrmont | profile.id,” 2019)
Located directly adjacent from the CBD, separated by Darling Harbour and accessed by the Pyrmont Bridge, Pyrmont is 100 h/a in size and is home to 12,813 people, (ABS, 2016), however, according to the website, profile.id, the population grew to 14,754 in 2019.
Describe the location of Pyrmont.
Calculate the population density for Pyrmont in 2016 and 2019? What are the percentage increase in both population and population density?
To develop a deeper understanding of the people that make up Pyrmont, explore the data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the 2016 census by clicking here.
Module Two
Key Planning Challenges for Sydney
As Sydney progresses into the 21st century a number of challenges must be overcome. To tackle these challenges, the NSW Government developed the Metropolitan Plan 2036 in 2010.
View the video to answer the first set of questions for this module.
Outline some of the pull factors of Sydney people suggested.
How long will the project last and how many people will be living in Sydney by 2036?
As a percentage of Australia's GDP, what is Sydney’s contribution? Thinking about world cities, why is development/investment in Sydney important?
Outline at least 4 key ambitions/targets of the 2036 plan.
Describe how a “City of Cities” alleviates some of the concerns of future growth and development
Describe the “Global Arc” and explain why it’s important in Sydney’s growth.
Where will 70% of the new homes needed be located? Why is this important?
How is Sydney's population density different from cities such as London, Vancouver, and Munich?
Describe the changes in demographics and explain the significance of this transition.
The Metropolitan Plan 2036 strives to locate Sydney's growing population in areas where people want to live. With a focus on brownfield areas (older established inner-city areas often in old industrial estates), or greenfield areas (new land and home releases mainly in the North West and South West) Sydney’s planners strive to meet the demands of the public. Pyrmont’s urban renewal and consolidation are part of the strategy to locate new housing in existing (brownfield) suburbs.
1. In your own words, define the term: brownfield
2. In your own words, define the term: greenfield
The growth in Sydney continues at the rate of approximately 100,000 people per year (although the Metropolitan Plan 2036 comments, "50 - 60,000" people move to Sydney, the figure has been revised to the more significant number). This exponential growth led to the development of a second strategy/vision, three business districts. View the video, “A Metropolis of Three Cities - the Greater Sydney Region Plan” and answer the following questions:
What areas will make up Western City? What is the expected population of this area?
What areas will make up Central City? What is the economic focus of this area?
What areas will make up Eastern City? What is the economic focus of this area?
What is the economic corridor? Explain their importance to Sydney and Australia. What other name is the corridor known by?
Outline some of the positive social benefits of this plan.
Outline some of the positive economic benefits of this plan.
Outline some of the positive environmental benefits of this plan.
Explain the meaning behind the term, “thirty minute cities”
To find out more about the plan, visit: https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities
As introduced, Sydney faces several key planning challenges. This section of Module Two will further explore these challenges.
Planning Challenges
A Growing Population
The first of these challenges is a growing population. As introduced in the previous videos, by 2036, Sydney’s population is expected to be 6 million (one-fifth of all Australians). However, this figure may be reached well before this date. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the population of Sydney in 2018 was 5,230,330 (ABS); therefore, the target of 6 million may be reached well in advance of 2036. The additional population will require over 770,000 new dwellings. Currently, the average occupancy is 2.51 people per dwelling compared to over five people per household 120 years ago. Subsequently, even more, dwellings are required to house Sydney’s growing population.
Employment
Another challenge for planners relates to employment. As the population grows, so too does the need to provide the requirements for jobs. The additional population will require over 760 000 jobs as Australia has undergone significant economic restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century and early 21st. There has been a reduced focus on the primary and secondary sectors of the economy, and an increased concentration on creating opportunities for jobs in the tertiary and quaternary sectors.
Sustainable and Affordable Housing
Providing sustainable and affordable housing represents a third challenge. Average dwelling sizes are increasingly taking up more space (e.g. McMansions). These large houses also reduce biodiversity and require increased energy consumption. Furthermore, Sydney’s housing is expensive for many, especially lower socio-economic groups. According to the property website, Domain, the median house price in Sydney in 2020 (June 2020) is $1,143,012 and units $735,417 (Dr Nicola Powell, 2020).
Public Transport
It is unsustainable to encourage everyone who lives and works in Pyrmont to drive their car. Sydney planners face an additional challenge, providing efficient transport, the new jobs and housing should match transport capacity. This public transport comes in the form of light rail, trains, buses, ferries, or metro (underground trains).
Infrastructure
In addition to the mentioned hurdles Sydney must overcome, planners must ensure that they provide efficient infrastructure such as; electricity, water supply, sewerage, stormwater management systems, and communication systems for the modern era.
Global Competitiveness
Maintaining global competitiveness represents the penultimate challenge facing Sydney’s development. Sydney provides one-quarter of Australia’s GDP and must compete with other cities in the Asia Pacific region for investment, capital and labour. Therefore more land is required for commercial land use close to the CBD, such as suburbs like Pyrmont.
Ecological Sustainability
Finally, is the consideration of ecological sustainability. Our environmental footprint measures sustainability; the land a city requires to provide its raw materials and deal with its waste. Sydney’s footprint is 7h/a per person, and three times the global average. If the entire world had the lifestyle of the average Sydney person, we would need approximately five planet Earth’s to sustain this lifestyle. Effective town planning can help manage environmental issues like air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, waste disposal, water scarcity and biodiversity loss.
Sydney’s planners must plan for an increasing population and promote sustainable urban design to protect the environment and ensure a high quality of life. Some strategies include mixing jobs and housing (mixed-use zoning), building new housing near transport centres and providing more parks.
In your own opinion, classify the planning challenges in the order of priority/importance to town planners. Justify your decision.
Select at least three challenges planners in Sydney face and summarise them using your own words.
Explain the role the challenges pose for planners when designing a city for the 2020 and beyond.
Module Three
How were urban renewal and consolidation implemented in Pyrmont
Brief History
Pyrmont was one of the earliest suburbs to be established in Sydney. Due to its strategic location on a peninsular close to the CBD, and surrounded by Sydney Harbour, it quickly attracted industries. The principal industries were sandstone quarrying, heavy industries like the CSR sugar refinery (the second largest employer after BHP), railway yards, and port facilities. Industries located near the ports as most products shipped by water. In 1900, Pyrmont had a population of 30,000 people living mainly in terrace housing. The average occupancy was five people per house. The early 20th century was the era when people walked to work, and so most people lived close to their jobs.
Observe how Pyrmont has changed over time by using online tools such as Six Maps and entering Pyrmont in the suburb box on the left. Click ‘Looking for 1943 images’, you can zoom into the suburb and drag the slider up and down to move between 1943 and today.
Early 1900’s.
Pyrmont was a prominent industrial suburb employing 30,000 workers in major heavy industries. The CSR sugar refinery was a significant employer.
[To find out more about what Pyrmont was like in the early 1900's visit the Pyrmont History website and view examples of the primary industries in Pyrmont.]
The second half of the 1900’s
Pyrmont went into urban decay as industries moved out of the suburb because most industries were changing, heavy industry was moving out of the CBD, and globalisation was affecting the way industries operated. Transport of raw materials and products was moving from shipping to road and rail.
[To find out more about what Pyrmont was like before the urban redevelopment in 1994, visit the Australian Screen - an NFSA website and watch the three short Concrete City film clips.]
1994 onwards
Pyrmont was a very decayed inner-city suburb with a small population of around 3000 people and approximately 5,00 jobs. The NSW government set up the City West Authority in 1994, later called the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA), to manage Pyrmont’s urban renewal and consolidation. Planners chose Pyrmont due to its strategic location close to the CBD.
SHFA Developed a master plan to guide the development. They set planning targets of 17,000 residents (from 3,000 in 1994) and 26,000 jobs (from 5,000 in 1994) by 2021. They then built the infrastructure required to attract developers and residents and eventually sold the land to developers
[To explore the plan in more detail, click here (find link to plan). Also, find out more about the early stages of urban renewal in Pyrmont, by watching the Rebirth of Pyrmont video by clicking here .]
Today
Pyrmont is now one of the best examples of a renewed and consolidated suburb in Sydney. In the suburb, the renewal features mixed residential/business, public recreation and residential land-use zoning. As a result, 70% of Pyrmont’s and adjacent Ultimo’s residents work in their suburb or the CBD. Also, 95% of the foreshore is now accessible up from only 5% in 1900.
Module Four
Why were urban consolidation and renewal implemented in Pyrmont
There are several reasons why planners implemented the policies of consolidation and renewal in Pyrmont. Three categories, economic, social, and environmental benefits, represent the rationale behind the implementation of these dynamics. This module explores these categories and the impacts the dynamics have made on both Sydney and Pyrmont.
Economic Benefits
In Greater Sydney:
It is costly for the government to build infrastructure for new homes on the city fringes.
It is cheaper to fill in (backfill) existing underused suburbs and upgrade existing infrastructure.
It costs 30% less to house a family in an existing suburb than in new suburbs on the edge of the city.
In Pyrmont:
Infrastructure such as water supply, sewage, electricity and public amenities were already in place
Upgrading existing infrastructure was cheaper than building new infrastructure
Social Benefits
In Greater Sydney:
Urban consolidation in brownfields provides homes closer to existing employment and leisure and can reduce social problems in poorly planned suburbs like isolation, boredom, crime, unemployment or loss of social time traveling to work.
The demand for inner city housing continues to grow with demand from growing demographic groups like Yuppies, DINKS and other high income earners (employed in the Quaternary Sector) as well as Empty Nesters.
In Pyrmont:
The inner city location is attractive to middle and high income earners who work in Pyrmont or the CBD. It is also close to leisure activities and services.
Social equity was planned by providing affordable housing and public housing which offers low cost housing. Approximately 8% of Pyrmont’s housing is affordable housing.
Environmental Benefits
In Greater Sydney:
Urban sprawl creates environmental problems.
Clearing land for new suburbs leads to deforestation, less biodiversity and loss of productive farmland leading to increased food miles.
Suburbanisation creates air quality problems through increased traffic and increased water consumption and waste generation.
In Pyrmont:
Increasing the population in inner city suburbs like Pyrmont helps to slow urban sprawl.
Urban renewal has led to improved environmental services and features like recycling services, sustainable building design, car share facilities, parking restrictions, solar powered parking meters, cycle ways and walking tracks, improved public transport options (including bus, ferry and light rail), more open spaces and public parkland (over 20 hectares of public parkland has been created).
Module Five
What are the implications of the urban dynamics for liveability in Pyrmont?
Liveability is "an assessment of what a place is like to live in, using particular criteria, for example, environmental quality, crime and safety, education and health provision, access to shops and services, recreational facilities and cultural activities." (“Glossary,” 2017)
When undertaking geographic studies, Geographers rely upon two types of data, primary and secondary. Complete this section by collecting two kinds of data to develop your evaluation of Pyrmont.
Primary Data: To assess liveability, we can collect primary data by observing and recording features of our study site (Pyrmont), and rating them using a scale. Town planners try to achieve goals, such as those listed in the table titled, "Key Planning Goals", when planning liveable communities.
Select “view larger map” on the map to access the street view option by dragging the Peg Man (bottom right) onto the approximate location for the three numbered sites as outlined in the image to the right and complete the planning goals table on your worksheet for each location. This exercise is subjective, but what is most important is that you include evidence. What do you see in the street view that supports your judgement?
Locations are intersections of:
Pirrama Rd and Harris St
John St and Harris St
Union St and Harris St
Assessing the variety of home types and costs
The two dominate types of homes in Pyrmont are apartments and terraces. Pyrmont is generally an expensive area to buy a home in, and therefore, it has two kinds of low-cost housing to promote social equity, Public Housing and Affordable Housing. The NSW Department of Housing provides public housing. Public Housing provides for low-income families that cannot afford Sydney's high rental cost. Affordable housing is a unique City of Sydney scheme that taxes property developers to get a pool of money that is used by registered organisations to build low-cost rental housing for people that qualify. The main affordable housing provided in Pyrmont is City West Housing.
City West Housing has eight properties in Pyrmont. In 2020 there were around 800 tenants in 428 properties making up around 8% of Pyrmont’s total population.
Use the map to highlight the location of the City West Housing properties in Pyrmont.
In addition to the map that highlights the location of the City West Housing properties, a Google Earth tour allows for street views to assist you in getting a better “feel” for the suburb. Access the journey through Pyrmont by clicking on the link below:
(https://ggle.io/3Ip8)
Secondary Data: Analysing secondary data is another way to assess liveability. View the film clip about what residents think about living in Jacksons Landing, a residential development on the old CSR Sugar refinery site. Is this a liveable place?
Lend Lease produced this video as an advertising tool to help sell apartments in the Jacksons Landing residential development, so may contain elements of bias.
What are some of the key points/features introduced in this video about living in Pyrmont, specifically Jackson’s Landing.
What do the following figures from SHFA, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Sydney Morning Herald Domain Real Estate Department suggest about how liveability has changed over time in Pyrmont?
Updated from Ultimo & Pyrmont: Decade of Renewal (SHFA, 2004)
Module Six
Extended Response
Having completed the previous five modules, use the information you have collected to answer the following question:
Explain how and why the NSW Government has implemented urban consolidation and renewal in Pyrmont. Evaluate its effectiveness in improving the quality of the urban environment.
You are encouraged to visit Past Papers by clicking here to understand where previous students did well and needed to improve. Further, you should include previous papers as part of your study routine to develop and consolidate your learning.